Street-scraper and snow-plow



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1'.

V G. G. GIBSON. L

STREET SGRAPER AND SNOW PLOW,

Patented Maru23, 1886.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

G. G. GIBSON. STREET SGRAPER AND SNOW PLOW. No. 338,262. Patented Mar. 23,1886.

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N. PETERS Phalo-Ulhugmphen Washmglon. D c

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICEO GEORGE G. GIBSQN OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

STREET-SCRAPER AND SNOW-PLOW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 338,262, dated March 23, 1886.

Application filed January 5, 1886. Serial No. 187,727.

vation, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view, 1

of a scraper or snow-plow embodying my invention.

Like letters refer tolike parts wherever they occur.

My present invention relates to the construction of street-scrapers and snow-plows.

for cleaning streets and roads, and though of general utility, wherever such apparatus is required it is of special utility where the streets are paved, where car-tracks, uneven surfaces, gutters, or raised crossings exist.

Heretofore, so far as I am aware, the blade or scraper of this class of machines, which is usually set angling or obliquely to the line of draft, has been continuous or rigid, and as a result illy adapted to resist the shocks and strains to which it is constantly submitted; or it has been made up of independent sections, like a series of detached hoes or shovels, each section dependent for its power on its own gravity or a spring or springs.

One difficulty experienced with rigid or single-bladed scrapers has been that whenever a raised crossing or similar obstruction was met the blade must be raised, and thus skip the crossing, or, if allowed to drag, when the leading end strikes the obstruction the whole blade is raised, which causes it to skip or leave portions of the street untouched. Then the leading end of the rigid scraper strikes the crossing or other obstruction, a strain as well as a shock is given the whole blade, which frequently results in its destruction.

The objection to ablade made up of short independent spring or gravity sections lies in the lack of power or strength in said sections, their liability to get out of repair and become practically inoperative, the unequal distribution of the strain on the plow and frame, and the somewhat complex character of the construction.

(No model.)

The object of the present invention is to so modify the construction and attachment of the scraper as to avoid the objections hereinbefore referred to; and to this end it consists, first, in providing a sectional practically con-' tinuous or flexible scraper-blade made up of sections loosely or pivotally united one with another, which shall accommodate itself to the surface on which it is operating, so as to do its work thoroughly and with the leaststrain on the apparatus, while each section shall be held down to its work by its fellows, have the power incident to the weight of the whole blade, and the strain shallbe equalized or distributed over the several sections, and thus in a measure neutralized; secondly, in providing a saddle or yoke for preserving the continuous and operative relation of the sections which compose the scraper, so that they may accommodate themselves to the surface over which they pass without loss of continuity and power.

There are minor points of novelty which will hereinafter more fully appear.

In the drawings, A indicates the bed of the car or carriage from which the scraper is suspended by chain, ropes,or in any approved or suitable manner.

B indicates the scraper, which is made up of a series of plates, 1), pivoted on each other, as at 2;, so as to insure flexibility of the blade as a whole and enable each section to adapt itself to the surface over which it is passing without disturbing or displacing the other plates of the series. This scraper-blade com posed of the pivoted plates 1) is connected at each end by a pivotal bolt, 0 and c, to astretcher-bar, O, which occupies the position of the usual plank straight-edged scraper in common use, and said stretcher 0, whose only function is to sustainthe flexible blade and maintain the vertical position of the plates, may be of plank or any suitable material.

In order to permit the movement of the plates or scraper longitudinally sufficient to render them capable of accommodating them selves to inequalities, or to concave or convex surfaces, both of which are found on car-tracks and most roads, one of the bolts, 0, moves in a slot which may be made either in the plate or in the stretcher O. The several plates are each connected with a suspension-bar, D, by

a chain or other flexible connection, (I, and, if desired, the plates may have shanks or arms d for attaching the chain, though this latter feature is not essential. The suspension-bar D is in turn connected by a chain or other flexible connection, d", with a lever, E, pivoted on the car or carriage bed A, which lever serves to raise or lower the scraper.

F indicates a saddle or brace bar, which is supported or rides 011 the stretcher G, and, if desired, may be secured thereto by clamp-bolts or screws f. This brace-bar F aids in preventing the tilting of the sections or plates 1) when the scraper is in use. It is valuable, but not essential, as the apparatus works well without it.

G indicates the wings of the scraper or that portion which extends beyond the pivot-bolt- (J, and is composed of two or more plates, the outer one, or both, of which is controlled by a rope or chain, 9, passing over a pulley, g", to the lever E or other fastening within reach of the driver. In case of single-plate wings, only level or evenly-inclined surfaces can be scraped, whereas by sectioning this wingpiece irregular surfaces may be cleaned. The scraper, as usual, is set angling or obliquely to the line of travel, and is properly supported by diagonal braces h, of wood, iron, or any suitable material,which extend from the stretcher O to the frame work thereof, as shown in Fig. 1.

It will be noted on reference to Fig. 3 that the devices are shown as in use for scraping a car-track, as they are specially adapted for removing snow, &c., therefrom. For such purposes the outer plates or sections, which.

are pivoted on the stretcher, should be curved in on the edge, as at m, so as to come within the rail, and this will be of special importance where the track may be either convex or guttered, as shown in dotted line, Fig. 3, or worn irregular by the travel.

The devices being substantially as hereinbefore described, the scraper will be lowered into operation in the usual manner by means of the lever E and rope g, the stretcher bar or plank riding the rail, (if for clearing tracks,)

and the flexible or floating blade B will, by the independent movement of its plates 7), accommodate itself to the character of the surface over which any part of the blade is passing. If a crossing or gutter is encountered, each plate will in its turn sag or enter, and pass from the gutter or rise and ride over the crossing without straining or disturbing the remaining sections, and the play of the section on bolt 0 will allow the blade to expand or contract to pass the horizontal line in dropping from a convex into a concave track.

Having thus described the nature, advantages, and operation of my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. In a scraper or snow-plow, a flexible or floating scraper made up of sections loosely or pivotally united one with another, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a scraper or snow-plow, the combina tion, with a scraper, of a flexible or sectional wing-piece composed of two or more plates loosely or pivotally connected, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. In a scraper or snow-plow, the combination of a floating or flexible scraper composed of pivoted sections and a stretcher, the parts connected by a pivot or journal having a slotted bearing, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4. In a scraper or snow-plow, the combination of a flexible scraper, a stretcher, and a saddle-brace, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

'5. In a scraper or snow-plow, the combination of a flexiblescraper, a stretcher, asaddlebrace, and a suspension-bar with which the sections of the flexible scraper are each independently connected, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 30th day of December, 1885.

GEORGE G. GIBSON.

\Vitnesses:

GEORGE M. BLOCK, F. XV. BITTER, Jr. 

